Watch: Mohammad Kaif, Sachin Tendulkar, and others revisit the Natwest Trophy 2002 final on its 20th anniversary
Natwest Trophy 2002 (Image source- Twitter)
It’s been 20 years since the cricket world witnessed one of the greatest clashes in cricket, when India and England met in the NatWest Trophy final at Lord’s on July 13, 2002. The Men in Blue gave it their all to win the match. Sourav Ganguly celebrated the historic victory from Lord’s balcony by waving his shirt.
India, led by Ganguly, performed admirably throughout the tri-series, winning four of their five league games. When they arrived in the final to face the hosts, there were some questions about their potential to repeat their previous performance. However, the exceptional team effort and Ganguly’s aggressive attitude led to the historic victory.
After the senior batters were dismissed early in the innings, the Indian team pulled off an incredible run-chase headed by Yuvraj Singh (69) and Mohammed Kaif (87). In fact, India was reeling at 146/5 in the 326-run chase at one point. However, the young pair got the team out of danger, leading them to victory.
On the tournament’s 20th anniversary, Mohammad Kaif, Sachin Tendulkar, and many others have spoken of the historic win. Kaif uploaded the video on Twitter with the caption, “Twenty years back I played an inning that gave me an identity, fame and love for a lifetime. Revisiting the 2002 Miracle of Lord’s with family and friends and answering the question that I always get asked – How did you manage to chase down 326?”
Here is the video
Twenty years back I played an inning that gave me an identity, fame and love for a life time. Revisiting the 2002 Miracle of Lord’s with family and friends and answering the question that I always get asked – How did you manage to chase down 326? #Lord‘s #NatwestSeries pic.twitter.com/MYZoDQc9aH
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 13, 2022
The most iconic visual of the match was Sourav Ganguly celebrating by waving his jersey. However, Sachin Tendulkar revealed another anecdote wherein Yuvraj and Kaif asked him what else they could have done better.
“Dada took his jersey off, that everyone knows. But there is another story that no one knows about. Yuvi and Kaif came to meet me after the game, they said, ‘Paaji, our performance was good, but if we have to do something even better than this, what should we do?’ I was like, ‘you have just won the tournament for us! What more do you want to do? Just keep doing the same and Indian cricket will be fine’. They haven’t disappointed us,” said Tendulkar.
